PROPOSED RULES
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Economic Services Administration)
(WorkFirst Division)
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 98-22-056.
Title of Rule: WAC 388-400-0020 General assistance for pregnant women--General eligibility requirements and 388-484-0005 Five year time limit for TANF and SFA.
Purpose: Apply the sixty-month time limit to GA-S cash assistance.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.08.090.
Statute Being Implemented: RCW 74.08A.010.
Summary: Applies the sixty-month time limit to GA-S cash assistance.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Dennis Vercillo, WorkFirst Division, P.O. Box 45480, Olympia, WA 98504-5480, (360) 413-3093, e-mail vercidl@dshs.wa.gov.
Name of Proponent: Department of Social and Health Services, governmental.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: Applies the sixty-month time limit to GA-S cash assistance.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: It will amend WAC 388-400-0020 and 388-484-0005 so that the sixty-month time limit will apply to GA-S cash benefits.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. This proposed rule does not have an economic impact on small businesses. It only affects DSHS clients.
RCW 34.05.328 applies to this rule adoption. RCW 34.05.328 (5)(b)(vii) exempts DSHS rules that apply to client medical or financial eligibility.
Hearing Location: Lacey Government Center (behind Tokyo Bento Restaurant), 1009 College Street S.E., Room 104-B, Lacey, WA 98503, on March 9, 1999, at 10:00 a.m.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Paige Wall, phone (360) 902-7540, TTY (360) 902-8324, e-mail pwall@dshs.wa.gov.
Submit Written Comments to: Identify WAC Numbers, Paige Wall, Rules Coordinator, Rules and Policies Assistance Unit, P.O. Box 45850, Olympia, WA 98504-5850, fax (360) 902-8292.
Date of Intended Adoption: April 1, 1999.
January 29, 1999
Marie Myerchin-Redifer, Manager
Rules and Policies Assistance Unit
2532.2(1) To be eligible for general assistance for pregnant women (GA-S), a woman must:
(a) Meet the requirements of WAC 388-462-0005; and
(b) Meet the general assistance citizenship/alien status requirements under WAC 388-424-0005(3); and
(c) Be in financial need according to temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) income and resource rules in chapters 388-450, 388-470 and 388-488 WAC; and
(d) Provide a Social Security number as required under WAC 388-476-0005; and
(e) Reside in the state of Washington as required under WAC 388-468-0005.
(2) A woman is not eligible for GA-S if she:
(a) Is eligible for or her needs are being met by the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program TANF or state family assistance (SFA);
(b) Is under sanction for failing to comply with SSI requirements;
(c) Fails or refuses to cooperate without good cause in obtaining SSI; or
(d) Fails or refuses to cooperate in obtaining TANF or SFA. This includes disqualifications for:
(i) Convictions for misrepresenting residence to obtain assistance in two or more states as specified under chapter 388-446 WAC;
(ii) Convictions for drug-related felonies and failing to complete drug treatment as specified under chapter 388-442 WAC;
(iii) Failing to report a child's absence within five days of becoming reasonably certain the absence will exceed ninety days as specified in chapter 388-418 WAC; or
(iv) Failing to meet school attendance requirements for unmarried teen parents as specified under chapter 388-486 WAC.
(3) The assistance unit for a woman applying for or receiving GA-S will be established according to WAC 388-408-0010.
(4) Unmarried pregnant or parenting minors who are not emancipated under a court decree must meet the living arrangement requirements of WAC 388-486-0005.
(5) A pregnant woman in an institution may be eligible for GA-S as specified under WAC 388-230-0080.
(6) Effective May 1, 1999, GA-S cash benefits will count toward the sixty-month time limit as specified under WAC 388-484-0005.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-400-0020, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]
2533.1(1) A family is ((not)) eligible
for TANF or SFA if the family does not include((s)) an adult who
((has)) received ((TANF or SFA for)) sixty months ((after)) of:
(a) TANF or SFA beginning August 1, 1997; or
(b) GA-S cash benefits beginning May 1, 1999.
(2) ((In calculating the number of months an adult family
member has received TANF or SFA,)) The sixty-month time limit
does not need to be consecutive and can include a combination of
TANF, SFA, or GA-S cash benefits.
(3) A month ((is)) does not ((counted if the adult received
assistance)) count towards the sixty-month time limit when:
(a) An adult received cash benefits as a minor child who was
not the head of a household or married to the head of a
household. A minor child is not the head of a household when
residing with ((a)):
(i) Their parent((,))(s);
(ii) A legal guardian((, or other));
(iii) An adult relative((, or living in a
department-approved living arrangement under the supervision
of)): or
(iv) A nonrelated adult((; or)) in a department approved
living arrangement.
(b) When living in Indian country, as defined under 18
U.S.C. 1151, or an Alaskan Native village, if during the months
the individual received TANF ((or)), SFA, or GA-S cash assistance
at least fifty percent of the adults living on the reservation or
in the village were unemployed.
(((3) An adult who has received fifty-two months of TANF or
SFA may be exempted from the five-year time limit for reasons of
hardship or family violence if the total number of exempted cases
does not exceed twenty percent of the average monthly number of
TANF and SFA cases statewide during a fiscal year.))
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. 98-16-044, § 388-484-0005, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]